THE ELLISNORE DIAMOND

(Zenobi Software)



Spectrum 48K/128K+2





During the English Civil War, the priceless

Ellisnore Diamond was given to Sir Roger Durwood

by King Charles the First as a reward for hiding

the king in Carisbrooke Castle. Sir Roger, (also

known as "Blackbeard" because of his full black

beard, coppery face and evil eyes), thereupon

denounced the King to the Roundheads ... an act

of pure unmitigated treachery ... and in turn

received ample reward for his treason.



After the king's capture, suspicion fell upon Sir

Roger and popular opinion caused him to be removed

from the governorship of the castle. If the truth

had been but known, the Roundheads themselves were

the ones for instigating the rumour in the first

place. Removed from office, Sir Roger, or Blackbeard

as he was more commonly referred to, returned to the

village of Moonholm and lived in seclusion, weighed

down with guilt and remorse, and despised by all until

he died.



However, even after his death he could not rest; for men said that he had

hidden the diamond and that, not daring to reclaim it, had let the secret

of its whereabouts die with him and that his ghost now stalked the night

trying to locate the missing gem. Legend also had it that just prior to

his death he had vowed to sell the diamond and spend the proceeds on the

poor of the parish ... an act of contrition by a sorrowful and lonely man.





THE STORY SO FAR ...



The local parson summoned you, and over some tea and hot crumpets, devised

a plan to recover the lost diamond ... YOU would complete Blackbeard's

task, thereby releasing the ghost from eternal damnation and providing

the poor of the parish with some much needed wealth.



However, before you could embark upon your quest a sever storm whipped up

mountainous seas and flooded most of the low-lying village. Some cottages

were ruined and the church foundations greatly weakened. When the storm

abated folk wandered about checking on the damage. The parson was a great

source of comfort and was to be found everywhere where help was needed and

comfort required. When things returned to some semblance of normality you

decided to take a look for yourself and made your way to the market square

in an effort to assess the situation. You pause for a moment and then, just

as you are about to set off on your quest, you realise you have a slightly

more pressing problem ... you have lost your front door key!





NOTES :	Some useful commands are ... AGAIN (repeats last command) or

        FONT 1 and FONT 2 which will enable you to choose between the TWO

        sets of characters. Other commands recognised are ... GET ALL,

        GET ALL EXCEPT and PUT (item) IN SATCHEL.

